


The World Outside Go

by Kuukivi



Category: Hikaru no Go
Genre: Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-16
Updated: 2012-02-16
Packaged: 2017-10-31 07:13:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/341343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuukivi/pseuds/Kuukivi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Akira wants to spend time with Hikaru doing something else than playing go...<br/>Sequel to Shindou's Go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The World Outside Go

The World Outside Go

The next time they meet at the Go-salon Toya Akira invites Shindou Hikaru after the game to his place for dinner. His parents have not yet returned from China and he is longing to stretch the time he spends in Shindou’s company because he has started to feel a gnawing desire to really get to know his rival better. There is the exciting, yet ever surprising, familiarity of Shindou’s go but there are other things outside the world of go Akira has started to become faintly aware of. If there is a world outside of go for either of them, Akira wants to know Shindou there as well as he knows his rival when they sit across the goban playing each other.

“Will you make ramen?” Shindou asks enthusiastically with sparkling green eyes and a wide smile on his lips and Akira wonders if there’s anything he could deny Shindou. Akira likes sushi better but if ramen will make Shindou happy, then ramen it will be.

“If that’s what you want I guess I could make it,” he replies and cannot evade a little smile twitching the corners of his lips. Akira hardly ever smiles or laughs as open and heartily as Shindou does even if he often finds things amusing. But being around Shindou almost every week has apparently made him catch some of Shindou’s careless good humour. Yet lately, Shindou has seemed more withdrawn than when he was younger, after Sai disappeared. That much Touya is able to recall now that he knows it all and sometimes when they play he can see a hint of some kind of melancholic seriousness in the other boy. There is some kind of new maturity behind Shindou’s loudness and expressive, silly ways of being Shindou.

“And we can watch a film too, if you feel like,” he adds and receives a questioning glance from his rival.

“A film about go?” Shindou asks and Akira wonders if Shindou thinks there is nothing else in Akira’s life but go.

“I meant just a regular film, Shindou,” Akira says biting back the hasty sparks of irritation. He has been thinking about this for days now. Ever since Shindou spent the night in his room and told him about Sai. He has wanted to spend time with Shindou, and yet also fearing a casual conversation to be a bit awkward if there was not a game to play at the same time. He wants to play with Shindou but it is what they do in the Go-salon and he wants to show Shindou he is not that different after all from all the other boys of their age. And yet he does not know how to be around other young people, how to be interested in the things they find interesting or do ordinary things young people do together. But he is determined to find out if that will make him any closer to his rival.  
“I was thinking we could do something else for a change. And you can pick the film… We have a proper collection at home.” For a while he feels afraid of Shindou refusing the invitation after all but when he meets the other boy’s eyes there is a firm and interested yes in their depth.

“Okay, let’s go then,” Shindou says and mutters something silly and unintelligible about ramen.

***

They leave the Go-salon together and go groceries shopping for the food ingredients before they arrive at Toya’s place. There seems to be a flock of butterflies opening their wings inside Akira’s belly. He is fairly confident in his cooking skills and he enjoys treating his family with a simple and lovely dinner when he has time from his games but it feels different and a little bit embarrassing to cook when Shindou is watching him so intently and asking silly questions about everything Toya does.

When the food is ready Akira serves it to Shindou and feels proud and pleased when Shindou compliments his ramen. They are both hungry so there isn’t much time to talk while they eat.

“You really have some hidden talents, Toya!” Shindou exclaims after finishing his bowl and Akira feels himself blushing. It wasn’t bad at all, he admits to himself - feeling almost as exhilarated as when he has won an important game against a challenging opponent. He decides it is nice to cook for Shindou.

After the meal he takes Shindou to the living room and shows him their impressive film collection. Akira tells Shindou to pick a film he wants to see while he makes popcorn and gets their sodas. He goes back to the kitchen and hastily cleans the dinner dishes, makes popcorn and gets the sodas from the fridge. For a fleeting moment he wonders if he should offer Shindou some beer instead of soda. He doesn’t even know if Shindou has ever had beer. In the end he decides to pour them both small glasses of his father’s umeshu. He’s sure his father would not mind.

He almost drops the tray he’s carrying when he comes back to the living room and sees the film Shindou is holding in his hand; the film Shindou has picked for them to watch together. Carefully Akira places the bowl of popcorn, sodas and umeshu glasses on the small table in front of Shindou. His heart seems to have started to beat faster and irascibly and it takes him a moment to calm himself down before he trusts his voice.

“Have you found something?” he asks avoiding Shindou’s gaze and hiding the inevitable blush on his face by arranging two pillows for them to sit down on both sides of the table.

“There’s so many films I have never even heard of…” Shindou complains, but there’s a strange kind of innocence in his voice when he explains his decision. “So I picked this one with Takeshi Kitano in it… haven’t seen it before but he’s a really good actor.”

For an awkward moment Akira battles himself whether or not he should tell Shindou that Gohatto is one of his favourite films and it has nothing to do with Takeshi Kitano being in the cast. He decides to keep this piece of information to himself after all.

“Very well then,” he says and takes the film from Shindou and puts it in the machine. Then he settles on his pillow and helps himself to some umeshu. Shindou, too, takes a sip of his drink and turns to look at Akira with a pleasured smile.

“Mmmmmm, this is so good, Toyaa...” Akira wonders how umeshu would taste in Shindou’s mouth if he would lean over and kiss him now…

Then they concentrate on the film that takes their thoughts into the past and the time of the samurais, except for Akira’s who can’t concentrate at all. He keeps glancing at Hikaru’s expressions as the boy is focusing entirely on the story displayed in front of his eyes. Touya wonders what will happen when the nature of the film dawns on Shindou and finds himself thoroughly stirred when an adorable blush appears on Shindou’s cheeks as Tashiro leans to Sozaburo in the middle of the night asking him if he has ever been with a woman. And as the intimacy of the scene evolves into electricity between two men Akira feels completely shaken when Shindou turns to look at him. For a brief moment there seems to be something like a challenge in those green eyes but Akira does not dare to meet it and he pretends to be concentrating on the scene. Yet he is well aware of the warmth of blush on his own cheeks and the blood rushing in his veins. For a long time he does not dare to look at Shindou, and so he stares at the TV screen instead.

After the film is over there is an awkward silence for a while. Akira can hardly guess what is going on in Shindou’s head at that moment. He wants to ask, but he fears the answers he might get. So he suggests they play go instead. You don’t really need to talk much over the goban.

Akira plays white and Shindou plays black. Shindou’s movements seem interesting but a bit distracted and after a few turns he sighs.

“Toya, I wonder…” he starts and Akira raises his head to look at those mysterious green eyes that belong to his rival. “The taboo in the film referred to killing for personal reasons, which was forbidden for the samurais, right?”

Akira loses the track of their game for a while and concentrates on examining Hikaru’s face instead.

“Yes. That is how I understand it…” he says and his voice sounds huskier than he intended.

“And that…um…Sozaburo…he was evil, wasn’t he?” Hikaru seems to be interested in analyzing the film after all and Akira feels a bit at loss with words.

“Maybe…” he mutters. “Or maybe not? Maybe he was just mistreated and has grown bitter. I guess sometimes people may grow that way if other people expect wrong things about them.”

Shindou hums a bit and seems to be deep in his thoughts for a moment.

“Toya… do people expect wrong things about you?” Shindou looks straight at him and Akira feels a bit alarmed without an explanation. His heart seems to skip a beat. What is Shindou asking him?

“What do you mean?” Akira asks.

“It is just that sometimes I think people expect things about me. My mother and other people... some of my friends, too. They expect things like I should go to college or start dating Akari or some other girl. They just do not get it…”

Akira feels his breath catching in his throat.

“Get what, Shindou?”

“That go is my world now.”

***

In the end Shindou wins their game by 7 moku even if Akira was in the lead when they started. Silently they gather the go stones into their boxes and Shindou’s fingers brush Akira’s as if by accident. It sends shivers through Akira’s body until everything feels warm inside him like something had caught on fire within him. He dares not meet Shindou’s gaze because he is suddenly sure the other boy would see the flames in his eyes.


End file.
